Submitted by United Way of Thurston County
OLYMPIA – Day of Caring, the largest annual one-day volunteer event in our community, is this Friday, September 21, celebrating 20 years of volunteerism in Thurston County. Over 500 volunteers from throughout Thurston County, including 150 new students from The Evergreen State College, will be working on 49 projects throughout the county.
Projects include organizing donated books, assembling bags of food, harvesting fall vegetables, helping get farms ready for the winter season, painting homes that houses disabled individuals, lending a hand with a carnival and field day for school kids, and many other activities.
Day of Caring helps local nonprofits by providing an opportunity to get tasks accomplished that would otherwise take time away from their primary purpose of serving their clients. For volunteers, the event is a way to meet new people, work as a team and gain new experiences, while helping improve their community. Day of Caring is also the official kick-off of United Way’s annual fundraising campaign.
“For 20 years, United Way and our partners have been organizing the Day of Caring to support good work right here in Thurston County,” shared Paul Knox, United Way’s Executive Director. “At the end of the day, imagine the impact from those hundreds of volunteers on our community – it’s incredible!”
Day of Caring is generously sponsored by Harborstone Credit Union, Heritage Bank, Olympia Federal Savings, Providence St. Peter Hospital, Titus Will Cars, Townsend Security and TwinStar Credit Union
The following organizations are participating in Day of Caring this year:
Volunteer Teams
20’s and 30’s Volunteer Group
Anchor Bank
City of Olympia
City of Olympia Public Works Department
Community Youth Services
Employment Security Department (ESD)
Engineered Software, Inc
Executive Assistants Group
GHB Insurance
Group Health
Harborstone Credit Union
HDR Engineering Inc.
Heritage Bank
Housing Authority of Thurston County
Intel Corporation
Intercity Transit
Labor & Industries, Retrospective Rating
Lacey Sunrise Lions
Lewis Mason Thurston Area Agency on Aging
Michelle Harris
Olympia Federal Savings
Physicians of Southwest Washington
Providence St. Peter Hospital
Puget Sound Energy
RileyAnne’s Team – Autism Speaks
Rotary Club of Tumwater
Retired and Senior Volunteer Program
St. Martin’s University Campus Ministry
The Kelley Family
Thurston County BAR Association
Thurston County Chamber of Commerce
Townsend Security, Inc
TwinStar Credit Union
Washington State Employees Credit Union
Washington State Office of Financial Management
Olympia Waldorf School, Grade Two
Youth in Service AmeriCorps
Zonta of South Puget Sound
Project Sites
American Red Cross Mount Rainer Chapter
Boys & Girls Club of Thurston County, Tumwater Branch
Boys & Girls Club of Thurston County, Lacey Branch
Catholic Community Services – Volunteer Chore Services
CIELO Project at Radio Ranch
The Crisis Clinic of Thurston and Mason Counties
CYS – Community Youth Services
Family Support Center
First Christian Church
FORKids Program – Thurston County Food Bank
Garden-Raised Bounty (GRuB)
Hands On Children’s Museum
HeartStrides Therapeutic Riding and Horsemanship
Homes First!
Kiwanis Club of Olympia
Kokua
Left Foot Organics
Morningside
Olympia School District
Olympia Union Gospel Mission
Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights (POWER)
Rochester Community Center; ROOF
Boys & Girls Club of Rochester
Safeplace
Senior Services for South Sound
SideWalk Advocacy and Support
South Sound Reading Foundation
South Sound YMCA Briggs Branch
The Capital Recovery Center
The Salvation Army
United Way of Thurston County
Yelm Adult Community Center
YWCA of Olympia
